Andy Milne
Andy Milne and Unison — Cafe Coda — Saturday, June 25, 2022 — 7 and 9 PM
Interview date: 02/29/2020
Andy Milne’s outstanding career spans a wide breadth from collaborating among the elite of North American creative music, to being an accomplished film scorer and educator. I originally spoke with Andy in early 2020 in advance of his tour for his then newly released trio album The reMission. That canceled tour has been rescheduled, now two years later, but much has happened with the trio Andy Milne and Unison in that time. Most notably the album won a Juno award in 2021 for Jazz Album of the Year in the Group category.
Although two years have passed, much of our conversation is still relevant and brimming with insight into the world of Andy Milne.
A note about the audio for this episode: This interview was recorded as a reference to be transcribed during the period when the Showbiz Roundup was a blog. As such, the fidelity is not as high as we’ve come to expect from this program, and contains a small amount of background noise.
Jakob Heinemann
Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann, Adam Shead — The North Street Cabaret — Friday, June 10, 2022 — 8PM
Interview date: 05/23/2022
I spoke with the other members of the Jackson-Heinemann-Shead trio, Keefe Jackson and Adam Shead recently for other projects, so I thought I’d give bassist Jakob Heinemann his due on this program. A Madison native now living and working in Chicago, Jakob joins me to talk about his history and his burgeoning career.
Birth
Birth with Outside the Sphere — Cafe Coda — Sunday, June 5, 2022 — 7 PM
Interview date: 05/09/2022
Josh Smith, Jeremy Bleich, and Joe Tomino came together as the band Birth in Cleveland in 1998 with a shared mission that launched them into a world of meaningful and rewarding musical experiences. After a number of years they parted onto different paths. But they’re back now wiser, stronger, tested, and keen to bring their evolved sound to receptive ears.
Paul Hecht
Paul Hecht Quartet — Garver Feed Mill Patio — Saturday, May 28, 2022 — 7PM
Interview date: 05/20/2022
Pianist Paul Hecht—who divides his time between Chicago and Eau Claire—joins me to talk about an exciting new chapter in his musical life, his delight in exploring some new music with accomplished Chicago-based collaborators, and some personal insights into the Eau Claire Jazz scene.
Paul Dietrich
Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble — The Bur Oak — Sunday, May 15, 2022 — 7PM
Interview date: 04/29/2022
It would be a challenge to run an 18-piece jazz ensemble that plays non-traditional big band music anywhere, but the fact that Paul Dietrich does it in Wisconsin, and attracts the caliber of musicians that he does—and let’s face it, no one’s getting rich off of this—is a testament to his leadership, his composing and arranging prowess, and the individuality of his musical vision.
Kimmel-Ali-Harris Trio
Jeff Kimmel, Ishmael Ali, Bill Harris — Audio for the Arts — Saturday, May 14, 2022 — 8PM
Interview date: 4/22/2022
Jeff Kimmel, Ishmael Ali, and Bill Harris commandeered an air b’n’b in the wilds of Michigan during the height of the pandemic in 2020 to record their latest release “Vivary.” The record is an abstract electro-acousitc tour-de-force, and a fitting document of this period of experimental existence.
Darren Johnston
Darren Johnston — Cafe Coda — Saturday, May 7, 2022 — 8 PM
Interview date: 04/22/2022
Darren Johnston’s pandemic routine included lots of practicing the trumpet and composing. As things opened up he recorded three sessions of his music with different groups in New York and Chicago. The first of these albums “Life in Time” has now been released and will be showcased in Madison with his quartet of Chicago heavies.
For those keeping track: The name of the bassist Darren couldn’t remember is Joelle Leandre.
Ballister
Ballister — The North Street Cabaret — Saturday, April 23, 2022 — 8PM
Interview date: 04/07/2022
Ballister is a trio of muscular disquisitive improvisors, whose palette is equal parts bombast, and subtle nuance. After thirteen years together and ten album releases, including this year’s Chrysopoeia, they’re still going strong.
Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, Paul Lytton — Cafe Coda — Friday, April 15, 2022 — 7 PM
Interview date: 04/06/2022
When Ken Vandermark was last here with (air quotes) Laul Pytton, in March of 2020, although he didn’t know it he was days away from a canceled tour and an 18 month hiatus from the road. He returns triumphantly now with the full trio that was supposed to perform on that date – as his touring schedule ramps up to approach its pre-pandemic pace.
photo by Aleksandr Zykov on flickr
Craig Taborn
Craig Taborn — Cafe Coda — Thursday, April 14, 2022 — 7 PM
Interview date: 04/04/2022
Craig Taborn is one of the most brilliant and creative piano and keyboard artists working today. Someone who ordinarily prefers to let the music speak for itself, he was generous enough to join me on this program to discuss his history, and his conception, and approach — which are as deep as they are philosophical.